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Breeze: After the Blackout
This is a set of short stories written by Sensei PurpleBrick. These are set before, during, and shortly after Rebooted, hence the title.They will not be added in chronological order, but may be rearranged that way as stories are added. 'A Connection' Setting: between Seasons 2 and 3 I walked the all-too-familiar path through the cemetery towards my parents' grave. A handful of daffodils in my clutch, I stood in front of the stone marking the burial place of my mother and father. This wasn't in my hometown cemetery. After the... Invasion, there was not quite enough room for all the fallen. Since my parents were not originally from there, they were taken here, their birthplace, to be laid to rest. I set the yellow perennials on the ground over their bodies. "I'm sorry I didn't come sooner," I softly said. I tried to visit whenever I could, but I could never seem to manage a regular time, even after I got my own vehicle to make the trip. I sank to my knees as a wave of sorrow washed over me. Tears came into my eyes but I didn't stop them from falling. I buried my tearstained face in my hands and sobbed. I didn't understand. Over a year had passed and I still cried almost every time I came. why did it hurt so much? It didn't help that they were so strongly connected to that part of my past I really regret, and I still knelt there, lost in my sadness. I never heard the footsteps approaching or saw the person draw near. I only felt the hand on my shoulder, causing me to turn and see who was there. It was a teenager, appearing to be a year or two older than me, by my own guess. He had blond hair styled in a rather long crew cut, blue-gray eyes, and skin so pale I almost looked dark. I recalled seeing him a few times before, later on in my series of cemetery visits. I finally remembered to speak. "Ummm, hi." He cleared his throat while sitting down next to me. "I am sorry to bother you, but you have been crying for over seventeen minutes and thirty-seven seconds. May I ask what is wrong? " "I... Have?" I asked, surprised at both the amount of time I had apparently spent in tears and the fact that he had... Counted? I looked at him. We had never spoken before, had only seen each other a few times in our entire lives, yet here he was, trying to help me. He must have read my reaction, for he opened his arms. I gratefully fell into them with another round of tears. He glanced at the names and dates carved on the headstone. "Are these your parents?" I nodded into his white shirt. "It's been fourteen months," I sobbed, "Why does it still hurt so much?" "The loss of someone who is at all important to you creates a permanent change in one's life. I can relate to your situation." I pulled away from him. "Is that who you're here for too? Your parents?" "Not exactly... You see, I am actually an android. The grave of man I come to visit is my creator, who passed away a few months ago. It may sound strange, but he treated me like a son, and as I am designed to be as human as possible, I grew very attached to him..." I was shocked. Had he not just told me, I probably never would have guessed he was a robot. Yet another surprise for today. "So I've lost my parents, you've basically lost your father... It seems we have a connection." He blinked. "A... Connection?" "I mean, something in common," I corrected myself. "That probably wasn't the best way of saying it." "A connection... " he repeated, as if stuck on the phrase. I checked the time on my phone. "Oh gosh! I need to get back." I stood up to go and so did he, only now he looked a little shy or maybe... Nervous? "What is it?" He looked at me. "I was wondering... Could we meet here again?" "Sure, why not? I'll try to be back in... Three weeks." "I will be there. " "Great! See you later... Oh, heavens, I don't even know your name!" "I am Zane. " "Linda, but please call me Lin," I held out my hand for him to shake. He blinked a bit at my insistence on my nickname but he shook my hand just the same. I then left, waving goodbye for as long as he was in sight. I almost smacked into a tree on the way, but I didn't care. ≈≈≈ When I came up the path, Zane was waiting for me. I jogged over to him, smiling. "Hey Zane!" "Greetings, Lin." He smiled in return, but it faded and he looked away from me. I didn't let it go unnoticed. "Hey, what's wrong? " He turned back. "It is nothing, just... I-I do not know how to explain it." "Well I happen to be terrible at explaining just about everything, so go for it." Zane sank to his knees. "It is just that... I had a minor malfunction in my system earlier this morning, and my friend had to fix it, because my father was not there to... It seems so small, but yet it is bothering me so much." "Well the first day after my parents died, I cried over locking up the house without them. It doesn't make sense, but it's always the little things that matter to us most... " I knelt next to him, pulling him into a hug. I could feel moisture on my shirt as he began to cry into my shoulder. "It appears I have so much to learn still about being human." I held him for a while, not speaking, just letting him release his emotions. Hadn't he just done the same for me three weeks ago? Finally he pulled back. "Thank you, Lin." "Anytime, Zane, " I said. I stood and held out a hand to help him up, which he took. After he was standing, we still held each other's hands until we realized what we were doing. Zane and I let go, turning away and blushing slightly. "It'sss the Iccce ninja, let'sss get him!" Hissed a strange voice. Three young Fangpyres jumped out of the nearby bushes and tried to tackle Zane. He knocked them back, but they charged at him again. Without thinking, I grabbed one and punched him in the shoulder, then threw him to the ground, pinning him there. Zane calmly took care of the other two. "I thought we were all friends now?" He asked them. "Oh yeah, right, ssorry! Pleassse let usss go, and we won't bother you again? " He released them. I let the one I had get up as well. As they ran off, Zane turned to me. "You have been trained to fight?" "A little... " I said, which wasn't entirely false. I could have learned a lot more. But I was also not about to dig into my warrior backstory. "You have Ice powers?" "Why, yes." "I have them too, actually... But they're very weak." I managed to form a little frost in my palm to show him. "This is about the best I can do." He looked at it. "Perhaps- assuming you do not mind- my friends and I could help with that?" I gave him an uncertain glance. "I don't know... You won't be the first to have tried. " He smiled. "The Green Ninja was not even aware of his power when we started training him." My eyes must have been wide as dinner plates. "You guys trained the Green Ninja?" "Indeed. Would you perhaps like to meet him? And my other friends?" "I- I'd love to," I said. Zane and I got on our bikes and he led me to their base. And that is how I met the ninja and started my training as an Elemental Master. It's also how I came to associate the cemetery there with good memories, rather than bad ones. Boy's Shorts As the timer on the dryer beeped, Nya opened the door and began pulling out the clothes. Kai's shirt, Jay's socks, Cole's pants... And a pair of boy's jean shorts. Nya narrowed her eyes at the unfamiliar article of clothing. Now, the boys owned plenty of shorts, jeans or otherwise, but these were... Small. Not tiny like a little boy's, but they looked smaller than anything they could wear. Unable to rest until her curiosity was satisfied, Nya brought the shorts to the smallest of the guys: Jay. "Hey, are these yours? I found them in the laundry." But the Master of Lightning shook his head. "No, they're too small even for me. Maybe they were Lloyd's from when he was a kid." "I doubt it, he wasn't that big yet before the Tommorow's Tea. But I'll ask him anyway." Nya found Lloyd in the game room, playing Fist to Face with Kai. "Lloyd? Are these yours?" The Green Ninja turned from the game to answer her. "Hmm... Nope." "Even from when you were a kid?" "I'm pretty sure I didn't have anything in that size." "Haha, got you!" Kai cried as he delivered a critical hit to Lloyd's now idle character. "Hey! You knew I wasn't looking!" "That's exactly why I did it!" Soon the brothers were tangled in a fight on the couch, controllers and punches and kicks flying everywhere. The commotion caught the attention of Jay, Cole, and Zane, drawing them into the room as well. They had just started placing bets on the winner when Kai and Lloyd tumbled off the couch and onto the floor, laughing hysterically. They picked themselves up, still laughing and making the others laugh too. "Now, what did you come in here for again, sis?" said Kai. Nya showed him the shorts. They all studied it, scratching their heads over the mysterious piece of clothing. Wild theories started to rise when they were interrupted by a familiar voice. "Um, pardon me for asking, but, why are you guys so interested in my shorts?" They all turned to the speaker. Lin was giving them a confused and slightly embarrassed look. Six pairs of eyes widened in surprise. "These are yours?!" Jay cried. "Um, yeah..." The brunette chuckled sheepishly, coming closer so she could take what belonged to her. "But they're boy's shorts! Why do you wear them?" Nya asked. Lin may not have been the girliest of girls, but she was still far from a tomboy. Lin cracked an awkward smile and mumbled, "Because... Well, girl's shorts are kind of... Too short." Nya stifled a giggle. "Well, Lin, I didn't realize you were so modest..." She exchanged glances with the ninja. They shouldn't laugh, it was insensitive and Lin was already flustered from the sudden attention... In spite of themselves, laughter filled the room. Only Zane gave Lin a sympathetic look as the rest howled over the whole thing. He was confused by the laughter and Lin's growing embarrassment, but he decided the best course of action was to support his friend. Eventually Lin got her shorts back from Nya, the group stopped laughing and went back to their normal hilarious shenanigans, and a long time afterwards Lin finally dared to wear the shorts again. If the ninja remembered the joke, they refrained from making it in front if her. Sometimes, it was a wonder Lin ever survived living with them. Not Compatible So I had way too much fun writing this one haha. Probably exaggerated some of Garmadon's character traits for this to work but oh well. Also, this is set early in Rebooted but I had to sort of switch Cole and Zane's roles to make it work. Don't hurt me. ≈ My training as an Elemental Master wasn't going well. Zane had oh, so patiently worked with me on increasing and harnessing my ice powers, but to no avail. The others had even pitched in here and there with no luck. It was still the same little bit of frost. "Relax, and focus," Zane said, holding my outstretched arm. I did as he said. I wasn't about to bring up my general inability to focus on anything. But I was trying my best, and I think it was working. "Now, put all your thought into it," He ordered, "But do not stress or overthink it. " I obeyed. Yet still all I produced was that frustrating frosty spot on the nearest object - which somehow was Cole's face? When had he gotten there? The earth ninja sneezed and spluttered, taken by surprise. I gasped. "I'm sorry, Cole!" He wiped the melting ice crystals off his face. "It's fine, Lin." I groaned. "I'm never going to be able to do this." "Now that is not true," Zane patted my shoulder. "But I believe that is enough for now. Besides, it is getting quite windy out here." We went inside the base, which was now a building soon to be the Sensei Wu Academy. I didn't understand the deal with this school. I knew that after Lloyd's battle with the Overlord, problems had been few and very far between, but there was no telling how soon trouble would rise again. How can they teach a new generation of future ninja and save Ninjago at the same time? And how willing were young children to be taught in this manner anyway? As soon as Zane and I entered the living room, Wu came over to us. "Ah, I have been needing to speak with you, Lin." "What about?" I asked . "The Academy will be opening in just a few days. The ninja will be busy teaching classes and will not have time to train you." "So I won't be training anymore?" "They cannot train you, but I believe it would be best if you continue working with your powers. So I have arranged for you to train at my brother's monastery. " "But I live here now, Sensei! I can't just leave. " Zane backed me up. "Must Lin go, Sensei?" He sighed . "I know you two would like to stay together. But, Lin's powers are in need of much work, weak as they are." "Well, alright, whatever you say, Sensei. " I left the room. Two days later, I found myself walking up the path to Garmadon's monastery. I was aware of his conversion back to the good side, but I had never met him before. What would he be like? I knocked on the big wooden door. It was opened by whom I can only assume was Garmadon himself. "Lor- I mean, Sensei Garmadon," I started . "I am Lin... da, Master of Ice. I would like to be trained -" "Zane is the Master of Ice." He narrowed his eyes in suspicion Nervous before but now much more so, I coated my hand in frost. "I had only planned on taking in younger children to train," he glared. He started to close the door. "Wait! But Zane- I mean, the ninja sent me! Didn't you get the message from your brother?" He paused. "No, I did not. Now I would suggest you go, before you make a bigger fool of yourself." I was about to protest when the mailman came biking up to the door. "Sorry it's late!" He said , handing Garmadon a small scroll, "My bike had to be repaired. It took them forever! " I smiled sheepishly. "I think that's the note." He glared at me again, then opened the scroll and silently read its contents. He rolled it back up and turned back to me. "I see you have indeed been sent by them. I apologize for the hostility." I shrugged. "It's alright. In a way, I don't really blame you." He let me inside. I smiled and entered, but I could sense he still didn't fully trust me. "Oh great. It's going to be one of those days... " I mentally told myself. Garmadon led me to a room, and told me to unpack. I went to work emptying my bags, putting my things where I thought they should go. This setup would probably last about two days before it becomes chaos. I jumped when I dropped a bag and my daggers spilled out. Garmadon came towards me, angry. "Didn't my brother tell you that no weapons are allowed here?" "Yes, he did, I just forgot, I'm sorry!" I apologized in a rush. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" I thought. He reached for the weapons. "Something will have to be done with these." I grabbed them before he could. "Please, don't! You must understand, they're my mother's." He looked at me for a while, then sighed. "Fine. But don't let me or anyone else see them again." "I won't, I'm sorry!" I said. And so began what had to be one of the most awkward weeks of my life. The dagger incident did nothing to mend our already shaky relationship. I had to be very, very careful with what I said and did, which is very difficult for me when I'm not around someone who is making me nervous. Training was just as bad. Since I needed to be taught on a different level than the rest of his students, he taught me separately before the usual class. Wu and the ninja never seemed to notice my lack of focus, but Garmadon sure did. I tried to explain that I couldn't help a lot of it, but I could tell he wasn't convinced. Needless to say, my skills didn't advance at all. To be honest, I felt sorry for him. I'd done nothing but drive the sensei nuts since I first knocked on his monastery door. But at the same time, I usually work a charm over people and they see I don't mean any harm, and Garmadon just wasn't buying it. One day I was in my room after another unproductive lesson, when I heard commotion in the courtyard. I looked out the window to see the students surrounding four guys and a girl in colorful clothes. I jumped up when I realized: The ninja had come! I raced out of the bedroom, bursting through the door into the courtyard. "Zane!" I zipped past a grumpy Garm (don't tell him I just called him that) over to the ice ninja, throwing my arms around him. He was surprised at first, but quickly hugged me back. "I missed you, Lin." He said. "I missed you even more!" "But I did not specifically quantify how much I missed you. How do you know it is less than the amount that you miss me?" He gave me a puzzled look. "No, what I meant was- Agh, I don't know how to explain it! Just forget I said that." I chuckled , releasing him. "Hey, do we get a hug too?" Kai asked, eyebrow cocked. Jay, Nya, and Lloyd turned to me. Cole was not there, apparently guarding the weapons they had outside the monastery. I flushed slightly. "Of course," I went over and hugged the rest, listening to their chatter about the current situation at hand. But I found myself drifting back to Zane's side. "How is your training going?" Zane asked me. I didn't answer his question, but grabbed onto his arm. "I want to go back with you!" I said . He looked at me, startled by my passionate response. "I know you want to be with us, Lin, but we are currently on a very dangerous mission..." "I'll take my chances." "I will most likely not be able to train you..." That's okay! My training is still getting nowhere, so I don't think waiting can hurt. I just can't stay here any longer." "Why?" "Because.... Well, let's just say me and Garmadon don't quite match." Zane furrowed his brows in confusion. "What I mean is... We aren't compatible." I grinned in a sheepish manner. His face returned to normal. "I understand. I will talk to the others, I am sure they will be fine with you joining us." he said, suddenly turning away. Was that a big smile he was trying to hide? Sensei called us all inside for the lesson. I smiled, knowing it would be the last one for a long time. Category:Stories Category:Short Stories Category:Incomplete Stories